NBA News Blog – Page 1464 – NBA Blog

Chris Douglas-Roberts moved to bench

Al Iannazzone of the Bergen Record reports (via blog):

Chris Douglas-Roberts saw it coming and so did everyone else.

Douglas-Roberts’ playing time has been cut lately and his production has dropped off markedly – just one double-digit scoring night in his last nine games. So coach Kiki Vandeweghe is moving Douglas-Roberts to the bench starting tonight and replacing him with Jarvis Hayes in the starting lineup.

“He said I haven’t been myself in the past month or however long and he wants me to get back to that,” Douglas-Roberts said after shootaround. “He said he feels coming off the bench would be better suited.”

“I wasn’t surprised. I just…I wasn’t surprised.”

Vandeweghe informed Douglas-Roberts about his decision to make the change yesterday. The timing seems to coincide with Hayes’ shot and game coming around.

Cavaliers sign Cedric Jackson to second 10-day contract

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Cedric Jackson to a second 10-day contract, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.

Jackson (6-3, 190 pounds) has played in four games this season with the Cavaliers. In seven total minutes, he has scored one point and recorded one rebound. He signed his first 10-day contract on January 23rd.

Stephon Marbury makes debut in China

Marc Berman of the New York post reports:

On the other side of the globe from Coney Island, former Knicks star Stephon Marbury made his debut in China yesterday and told The Post he was suffering from major jet lag.

Marbury scored 15 points and had eight assists as his new team, Shanxi lost 102-101 to Dongguan Marco Polo. He had four steals and four rebounds, but shot 0 for 6 from 3-point range, according to China Daily.

“The time difference is a big problem,” Marbury told The Post via Skype yesterday. “I wake up early, in the middle of the night, and stay up most of the day. It stinks. I have not played since the last game against the Magic [in the second round of the playoffs last May]. So I was tired. I played 28 minutes, all of the fourth quarter. Talk about being tired. Wow. It was fun being out there though.”

Marbury reportedly passed up a final shot with five seconds remaining, feeding to former Knicks teammate Maurice Taylor, who missed the potential game-winning jumper. Shanxi is one of the worst teams in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Stan Van Gundy to coach 2010 East All-Star team

Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy will coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, to be played on Sunday, Feb. 14, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

With a 91-86 road victory tonight over the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills, the Magic (32-16, .667) clinched the second-best record in the Eastern Conference through Jan. 31. The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Mike Brown coached the East in last year’s game and is not eligible for the honor this season.

In his third year as coach, Van Gundy has Orlando poised to win its third straight Southeast Division title and back in title contention a season after guiding the Magic to The Finals. The Magic posted a 111-53 mark during Van Gundy’s first two years at the helm. Including his two-plus-year sting as head coach of the Miami Heat, Van Gundy has earned NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honors on five occasions. With a 255-142 (.642) overall coaching record, Van Gundy is almost certainly assured of owning one of the top winning percentages in league annals when he reaches the minimum requirement of 400 games coached.

George Karl of the Denver Nuggets earned the right to coach the Western Conference earlier this week and will man the sidelines of his fourth NBA All-Star Game of his 22-year NBA coaching career. Los Angeles’ Phil Jackson, who coached last year’s West squad, is not eligible to coach this year’s All-Star Game.

The NBA All-Star Game will broadcast live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide at 8 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 14, from Arlington.

Hawks sign Mario West for rest of season

The Atlanta Hawks today signed guard Mario West for the remainder of the season, according to Executive Vice President/General Manager Rick Sund.

In eight games with Atlanta this season, West has averaged 0.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg and 0.3 spg (.500 FG%, .600 FT%). The Georgia Tech product is in his third year with the Hawks.

The 30-16 Hawks are currently the 3rd seed in the Eastern conference. Two players, guard Joe Johnson and center Al Horford, made the 2009-10 NBA All-Star team.

Francisco Elson out six weeks after hernia surgery

Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond announced today that center Francisco Elson (7-0, 240) had successful surgery on Friday to repair a hernia. Elson is expected to miss six weeks of action.

Elson, 33, has appeared in 11 games for the Bucks this season and averaged 1.2 rebounds in 5.6 minutes per game.

The 20-25 Bucks are currently the 9th seed in the Eastern conference. The team has been led this season by super rookie point guard Brandon Jennings (17.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 6.2 apg, 1.2 spg) and center Andrew Bogut (15.9 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 1.9 apg, 2.18 bpg).

Warriors sign Coby Karl

The Golden State Warriors today signed guard Coby Karl of the Idaho Stampede, making him the 11th Call-Up of the 2009-10 NBA D-League season and the third from the Stampede to the NBA. Karl joins 70 current NBA players with NBA D-League experience.

A 6-5 guard, Karl has appeared in five games with the Stampede this season, averaging 27.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists. He scored in double-figures in all five games, including scoring a season-high 36 points on two occasions. A two-year member of the Stampede, Karl played 22 games in Boise’s Qwest Arena during the 2008-09 season, when he averaged 18.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists.

Karl rejoins the NBA having appeared in three games for the Cleveland Cavaliers before being waived on Jan. 6. A member of the 2008 Western Conference Champion Los Angeles Lakers, Karl appeared in 17 games for L.A. during the 2007-08 season. During his tenure with the Lakers, he was assigned three times to the NBA D-League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders, where he averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.2. During his NBA career, Karl scored 30 points in 20 games for Cleveland and Los Angeles.

A three-time Western Athletic Conference All-Academic Team selection at Boise State, Karl ranks third on the Bronco’s all-time scoring list with 1,698 points. In his senior season he averaged 14.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists, and was named a First-Team All-WAC selection. Karl, son of Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, left Boise State as the all-time leader in games played (127) and three-pointers made (266).

Dwyane Wade to take summer classes

Michael Wallace of the Miami Herald reports:

With both the Heat and the U.S. national team awaiting a decision regarding his immediate future plans, star guard Dwyane Wade confirmed his first summer commitment.

He is headed back to school. Wade plans to enroll in online courses at Marquette to work toward an undergraduate communications degree.

Wade, 28, discussed his intentions in advance of Saturday’s game against the Bucks at the Bradley Center. Wade played his college games at the same arena, where Marquette retired his No. 3 jersey in 2007.

Part of the agreement to honor Wade at that time was that he would eventually try to complete his degree.

“It’s a process,” said Wade, who has about 30 college credits remaining. “It’s something that will take a while because I don’t have a normal schedule. But it’s something that we’ll get completed.”

House of Jayson Williams robbed

The New York Post reports:

Trouble always seems to find Jayson Williams.

The former NBA star’s South Carolina estate was recently robbed of more $150,000 in sports memorabilia, electronics and jewelry, The Post has learned.

Among the stolen items were a pair of Tiger Woods’ shoes autographed by the sullied billionaire golfer, shorts signed by basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain, and a handwritten lyric sheet by rapper Tupac Shakur.

The burglar also scored four plasma-screen TVs and jewelry, including a diamond Breitling watch and a gold Rolex.

“I want my memorabilia back because they mean more to me than what they represent,” the ex-Net’s wife, Tanya Young-Williams, told The Post.

Andre Miller scores 52 in Blazers win over Mavericks

The AP reports:

Andre Miller missed badly on his first shot of the game. That was about the only thing that went wrong for Portland’s point guard.

Miller scored a career-high 52 points, including 25 in the fourth quarter and overtime, and Juwan Howard hit a jumper with 44.8 seconds left to lift the Trail Blazers past the Dallas Mavericks 114-112 Saturday night.

On Portland’s second possession of the game, Miller’s 15-foot jumper missed the rim the completely and hit the backboard. That was one of his few misfires as Miller finished 22 of 31 from the floor and 7 of 8 from the foul line.

InsideHoops.com reports:

Miller shot 22-of-31, 1-of-1 from three-point range, and 7-of-8 free throws. He also had five rebounds, just two assists (and two turnovers), and two steals.

Also for the Blazers, LaMarcus Aldridge shot 10-of-20 for 21 points and just four rebounds. And with Brandon Roy out, Jerryd Bayless started alongside Miller and shot 7-of-11 for 17 points.

For the Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki shot 9-of-19 for 28 points and nine rebounds.

Fan discussion of Andre Miller’s big night is in this forum topic.